Before the Court is the Motion for Attorneys' Fees and Costs [Doc. #61] filed by plaintiff EnVen Energy Ventures, L.L.C. ("EnVen" or "plaintiff").[1] The motion is unopposed. Having reviewed the motion and the case law, the Court rules as follows.

I. Background

The underlying lawsuit involved defendant Black Elk Energy Offshore Operations, L.L.C.'s failure to pay its share of joint oil and gas operating expenses incurred and paid by EnVen. On February 10, 2015, the District Court granted the motion for summary judgment filed by EnVen. [Doc. #58]. In its final judgment, the District Court held that EnVen is entitled to "attorneys' fees incurred in the collection of the Unpaid Invoices, including all costs and attorneys' fees incurred in connection with this lawsuit, with the quantum of recoverable attorneys' fees to be determined by the magistrate judge." [Doc. #60 at p. 2]. EnVen now seeks attorneys' fees in the amount of $114, 495.00 and costs in the amount of $10, 292.83, for a total of $124, 787.83.

II. Analysis

A. The Lodestar Approach

The United States Supreme Court and the Fifth Circuit have oft-repeated that a request for attorneys' fees should not spawn major ancillary litigation. Hensley v. Eckerhart, 461 U.S. 424, 437 (1983); Associated Builders & Contractors of La., Inc. v. Orleans Parish School Bd., 919 F.2d 374, 379 (5th Cir.1990). A court's discretion in fashioning a reasonable attorney's fee is broad and reviewable only for an abuse of discretion, i.e., it will not be reversed unless there is strong evidence that it is excessive or inadequate, or the amount chosen is clearly erroneous. Hopwood v. State of Tex., 236 F.3d 256, 277, n.79 (5th Cir. 2000); Hensley, 461 U.S. at 436-37. To determine a reasonable fee, the court must provide a concise but clear explanation of its reasons for the fee award, making subsidiary factual determinations regarding whether the requested hourly rate is reasonable, and whether the tasks reported by counsel were duplicative, unnecessary, or unrelated to the purposes of the lawsuit. Hensley, 461 U.S. at 437-39, 103 S.Ct. at 1941-43; Associated Builders and Contractors, 919 F.2d at 379. The Fifth Circuit has noted that its "concern is not that a complete litany be given, but that the findings be complete enough to assume a review which can determine whether the court has used proper factual criteria in exercising its discretion to fix just compensation." Brantley v. Surles, 804 F.2d 321, 325-26 (5th Cir. 1986).

Turning to the billing statements and declaration submitted by plaintiff's counsel, this Court must determine whether the hourly rates of $325.00/hour for Paul Goodwine, $300.00/hour for Emile Dreuil, and $275.00/hour for Taylor Mouledoux are reasonable given counsel's ability, competence, experience, and skill. Counsel notes that they adjusted their hourly rate downward based on the recent opinion of this Court in Offshore Marine Contractors, Inc. v. Palm Energy Offshore, L.L.C., Civ. A. No. 10-4151, 2014 WL 5039670 (E.D. La. Sept. 25, 2014).[2] Goodwine is a shareholder with 20 years of experience; Dreuil is an associate with 10 years of experience; and Mouledoux is an associate with seven years of experience.

Considering the prevailing market rates in the Greater New Orleans area and the reasonable fees set by the courts in this district, the Court finds that the aforesaid hourly rates are reasonable. The Court finds that $325.00/hour is a reasonable rate for the services of Goodwine, $300.00/hour is a reasonable rate for Dreuil, and $275.00/hour is a reasonable rate for Mouledoux.

2. Reasonable Hours Expended

The Court must next determine whether the number of hours that plaintiff's counsel expended on the litigation was reasonable. The burden of proving the reasonableness of the hours expended is on the fee applicant. Mota v. Univ. of Tex. Houston Health Science Ctr., 261 F.3d 512, 528 (5th Cir. 2001). As a general proposition, all time that is excessive, duplicative, and/or unproductive should be excised from any award of attorney's fees. Watkins v. Fordice, 7 F.3d 453, 457 (5th Cir. 1993). Attorneys must exercise "billing judgment" by "writing off unproductive, excessive, or redundant hours" when seeking fee awards. Walker v. U.S. Dep't of Hous. & Urban Dev., 99 F.3d 761, 769 (5th Cir. 1996). The fee seeker's attorneys "are charged with ...

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